In April 2016 I returned to Opera Rara in the role of Fanny for the recording of Bellini’s Adelson e Salvini.
Vincenzo Bellini was one of the most important composers of Italian opera in his time. He was born in 1801 in Catanina, Sicily, to a family already steeped in music; his father and grandfather were both musicians. He began composing before receiving any formal music education. Bellini developed a reputation for fine craftsmanship, particularly in the way he forged an intricate relationship between the music and the libretto. He wrote Addison e Salvini while he was still a student in Naples. The libretto was written by Andrea Leone Tottola. The opera follows the fortunes of the passionate Italian painter Salvini who falls in love with his patron’s fiancée Nelly. The work made such an impact that it led to Bellini’s first professional commission.
Together with our conductor Daniele Rustioni, we immersed ourselves in a week of rehearsals before moving to the BBC Maida Vale Studios to record the opera with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. On 11th May 2016 we also performed the opera on the stage at the Barbican Centre in London.
The ‘Adelson e Salvini’ recording will be available for purchase on CD and download from March 3rd 2107: http://www.opera-rara.com/catalog/product/view/id/3849/s/adelson-e-salvini/
For more information about the fantastic work Opera Rara do in ‘Recovering, restoring, recording and performing the forgotten operatic heritage of the 19th Century’ and for details of their forthcoming projects please visit their website; http://www.opera-rara.com/about-us